Owner-managed · Vendor-independent
Analytics consulting with hands-on implementation expertise
Large consultancies present extensive strategy papers and then exit the project. We deliver productive systems that work in daily operations and support you continuously until your team can run the solution independently. We are owner-managed, vendor-independent, and have more than 15 years of experience in this field.
Team model · Illustrative
Since 2010 · Nuremberg
Founder & Team
Barling Consulting was founded in 2010 by Robert Barling in Nuremberg. Since the founding, Robert has supported analytics transformations at more than a dozen major corporations. His experience ranges from SAP BW migration projects at industrial companies to comprehensive BI realignments in the financial sector. He has a deep understanding of technical realities in IT departments and equally understands the expectations and requirements at C-level.
The core team consists of specialized experts for SAP BW and Datasphere, Microsoft Fabric and Power BI, and Business AI solutions. When projects require additional resources, we strategically expand our team with specialists we have known and regularly worked with for years. In this way, we enable scalability for complex rollouts while maintaining quality and personal accountability.
Four patterns, four answers
Common Issues with Large Consulting Firms
These issues occur repeatedly in analytics projects with large consulting firms. We show you how we approach these challenges differently.
The Junior Effect
Large consultancies present their partners and established consultants in pitches but then staff projects with junior consultants in their second or third year. At Barling Consulting, the founder personally leads workshops and reviews. He is supported by experienced senior consultants who bring years of project experience from DAX corporations and larger mid-market companies.
The Platform Bias
Consulting firms that are SAP partners will always recommend SAP. Microsoft partners will always suggest Microsoft. This is understandable as they earn revenue from licenses. We don't have this conflict of interest. We generate our income exclusively through consulting services and earn nothing from software licenses. Therefore, we can recommend the platform that truly fits your landscape, organization, and requirements.
The Strategy-Implementation Gap
Typically, projects proceed this way: a strategy team develops a concept and roadmap, then hands the project to an implementation team that doesn't fully know the organizational context, stakeholder discussions, and decision rationales. We work differently. From roadmap development to go-live, the same team accompanies the project. This prevents information loss and the common problem of restarting after the concept phase.
The Technology Tunnel Vision
Analytics projects often begin with a technology question: a department says it urgently needs a dashboard. In many large consulting firms, a dashboard is then built. We ask first: Which specific decision should become faster or better? Which business question needs to be answered? Only then do we select the appropriate technology and dashboard design. Technology follows from the business question, not the other way around.
The Difference
Senior Staffing Pays Off
Junior staffing has a simple consequence: you pay for ramp-up and rework. A seasoned senior team delivers solid results earlier and keeps the cost curve flat. Toggle the chart between performance and cost: the curves are illustrative, but we know the pattern from our projects.
At a glance
The Typical Course of a Barling Consulting Project
ApproachWeek 1 to 2: Listen and understand
In this phase, we conduct structured interviews with stakeholders, analyze the existing data landscape, and perform a quick assessment. We do not use standardized questionnaires that apply equally to all companies. Instead, we tailor our questions to your specific industry, organizational structure, and situation.
Week 3 to 4: First draft and alignment
Based on insights from Phase 1, we create a first draft. Depending on the engagement, this could be a detailed target architecture, a prioritized roadmap, or a working prototype. Our goal is to deliver something tangible early that you and your team can see, touch, and evaluate. This enables valuable feedback before months pass.
From Week 5: Implementation and transition to independent operations
The implementation phase extends from architecture setup to go-live. Throughout this period, we define measurable interim results and milestones. In parallel with technical implementation, we continuously train your team so they understand and can independently develop the technical and business aspects of the system. Our goal is for you to operate the solution independently after project completion.